Simon's Point of View
When I told Alvin I would start rebuilding the neurotransmitter after dinner I wasn't joking. The second I was done eating (which happened fairly quickly) I was up in our room rebuilding the machine from scratch. Of course, this caused some suspicious looks from Eleanor and Charlie, who were already up there. I politely asked them to leave and although they obliged, they gave me a certain stare that made me feel like I was just the slightest bit insane. It was like I could hear their thoughts; Alvin working on Simon's project? And right after dinner too? It simply couldn't be.
Working in Alvin's body wasn't too different than working in my own. Although it didn't look like it, he had stronger muscles than I did so I was able to carry more and lift some of the pieces for a tiny bit longer, but the consolation was the height difference. It wasn't by much, but it was enough to get me confused at times like when I thought I could reach for something only to miss simply because I couldn't get used to having shorter arms or a shorter body. I'd do anything to be back in my own body, even if that meant being skinnier and weaker. Every second until bed-time (which I completely forgot about) was devoted to fixing my machine.
"Okay, Simon, time for you to get out and let us- Alvin?" Brittany looked surprised, "Alvin why are YOU working -or should I say tampering- with Simon's machine?" She and her sisters were already in their pajamas and ready for bed. My brothers: probably the same except downstairs on the reclining chair.
"I'm not tampering with it," I stammered, looking for the kind of answer Alvin would give.
"Then what are you doing?"
"Yeah," Jeanette added, "Simon works so hard, it's a shame it already broke once, don't break it a second time." I smiled and felt warm in the heart, touched that Jeanette was thinking of me. I wish I could thank her right there, but I was Alvin right now, not Simon. I wondered if I would ever get my chance with her, but pushed the thought back, knowing that I had bigger problems at hand. I wanted to acknowledge her more than I could, but would that really be something Alvin would do?
"Simon, uh," I hated speaking as though I weren't in the room, kind of like third person. It didn't help at all -just another problem to deal with while being outside of my own body, "He, uh, asked me to help him? Yeah, that's what he did, that's something I'd do." "No it isn't!" I thought to myself afterwards. What the heck was I thinking? I'd never ask Alvin for help, and the other day DOES NOT COUNT.
"He asked you?" Jeanette questioned, sounding a little hurt. I knew why. Obviously I would have gone to her for help before Alvin if it were for anything other than to steal the chemical. "What's gotten into him lately?" I suddenly agreed with Alvin's earlier comment: This sucks. This whole thing is causing even more problems. Jeanette's been hurt already a handful of times since switching bodies with Alvin.
"Either way, helping him or not, you should be downstairs," Brittany broke in, "You need sleep, and we have school tomorrow." Oh, jeez, I forgot about school! Me! I actually forgot about school?! This went from sucking to mega sucking in only a matter of minutes. "Goodnight, Alvin." Brittany breathed, showing me the way out.
"Goodnight, Jeanette." I said instinctively… I immediately hit my head against the door frame. Stupid! "Brittany!" I corrected myself, "I said Brittany!" Not much else needed to be said; I got shoved out of the room and I had to drag myself down the stairs and onto the chair beside my brothers. Theodore's snoring told me it was safe to talk to Alvin without anyone questioning us or thinking we were crazy.
"Alvin?" I whispered, hoping he hadn't fully fallen asleep yet.
"Just throwing it out there," He groaned, "but my name is Simon and my brother, Alvin is probably somewhere bashing his head against the wall like I did earlier." For Munk's sake, Alvin, making it a little obvious aren't you? He was still doing better than me at keeping our secret.
"Alvin, it's me, Simon." His eyes snapped open and he turned.
"You didn't actually bash MY head, did you?" He asked, coughing awkwardly.
"No, why?" I replied, "Did you?" Like I didn't already know. Not two seconds ago did he admit to such an act. My poor head…
"Um, no?…" He hesitated. "No I did not."
"But what about what you said before?"
"What stuff?"
"That stuff tha-" He cut me off.
"I don't remember any stuff."
"I swear, Alvin, if you're defiling my body…" I started, but got cut off again.
"So how do we handle school tomorrow and for the next week?"
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about." I explained, "We need a plan. We also need to learn each others schedules."
"Schedules?" Alvin repeated.
"Yes, you know, our school schedules for our classes?"
"Oh," He faked a laugh, "right. I'm not going to get any sleep tonight, am I?" I shrugged him a response.
"What class do you have first?" I asked.
"Math." He answered, "No, English."
"Well which one?" How could he have to think about this? "How could you not know which class you have first?!"
"I don't know, sometimes I don't eve go to first period." Jeez this was going to take a long while.
"Okay, let's start with me then." I said, "First period is physics."
"What's that?"
"Seriously?" I asked and he nodded, "Physics is science."
"Which classroom is that?" I just sighed deeply and continued on, ignoring his irresponsibility.
"Second period is math, third is English."
"How do you expect me to remember all of this?" It really wasn't that much and I couldn't understand why he was having so much trouble. He needed to take some responsibility.
"Just follow Jeanette around; She's in most of my classes anyway."
"You sure that's such a good idea?" Alvin asked, "She seemed kind of… off during dinner."
"That's because you weren't acting like me! You were flirtatious and rude and you made me seem like a fool!" It was like he was ignoring me, ignoring the fact that we had to break out of our daily routines and live in the others shoe. I admit that I've always wondered what it would be like to be Alvin, but this was just ridiculous. He must have just shook off my response because he continued talking, categorically of something completely off topic.
"Do you think Brittany likes me?"
"Alvin! This isn't the time for that!" He needed to stay focused. What, throughout our entire conversation, made him think about her? He couldn't be thinking about her while in my body. "Rather than thinking about girls, we need a plan to get more formula for the transmitter; you know, the chemical?"
"Yeah yeah, we'll steal some tomorrow, blah blah." Hearing him say that in my own voice only made me that much angrier. I never shunned something like that for something completely different. "It's just -the girls choice dance is coming up and I was kinda hoping she would ask me."
"Alvin, I said forget about th- Wait, the what?" Girls choice dance? This is the first I've heard of it, although that wasn't surprising. At school I usually thought of school, never minding any fliers that students put up, far too high for me to see anyway.
"The girls choice dance. You know, a dance where a girl chooses a guy to be her date?" Never going to one, I really had no clue what he was talking about. I was very social, just never when it came to public things other than concerts.
"Oh. When is it?" I asked and I could almost hear him think. I knew what he was going to say; not the exact words, but I knew that this was going to get in the way.
"A few days; I think that's what the flier said." A few days? A few days?! Was he not able to think even a little while in my body? A few days wasn't good for him, and a few days wasn't good for me!
"Alvin," I spoke calmly, resisting the need to twitch out of stress, "have you forgotten something?"
"Um, a guy can't ask a girl to a girls choice dance, bro."
"Not that," I ground my teeth together, frustrated at how Alvin could be so clueless, "Hello?! We're in each others bodies! We can't go out like this, especially to a dance! You're hoping Brittany would ask you; I'm not! You wanna know why? Because I'm YOU! And I don't wanna, nor should I, go to a dance with Brittany!" Okay, maybe I blew up just a little… I didn't normally lose my temper so easily, usually I could hide it. However this wasn't exactly a normal situation.
"Oh, yeah." Wow… Did he really not remember? "Well let's hope they don't ask us then."
"They?" I questioned.
"If Jeanette were to ask anyone, it'd be you, and I'm you and Jeanette is soo not my type."
"Oh, yeah, like a wanna dance with Brittany." I said sarcastically, a little peeved at the way my brother was talking about Jeanette. "Let's pray they don't ask us and that getting the formula won't be a problem."
I jinxed it. Alvin knew it and I knew it. I knew that the moment I said something better not happen, it would happen. I, of course, just had to jinx it. That morning, as Dave dropped us all off at school and as I walked to Alvin's locker, trying to put in the combination he told me about, Brittany came up to me.
"So, Alvin, I know you've been acting differently lately, and I figure it's because you're stressed."
"That's one way of putting it." I thought.
"How about, to relax, you go to the dance with me?"
"Oh, um, Brittany… I…" Stammering, I unintentionally slammed the locker shut.
"Say no more," Brittany smiled, "your nervousness is enough of a yes for me." She placed her hand on my shoulder, "See you there." She winked and walked off. Of course… I frowned and knew that, with this rotten luck, I needed to talk to Alvin. I started my search, but the bell soon rang, signaling the beginning of class, and even in Alvin's body, I couldn't ignore my calling.
"Alvin," The teacher -one I had yet to meet in school- sounded surprised, "You're here early; I'm impressed." Alvin seriously had a bad reputation when it came to what mattered in school: grades and responsibility. Class pretty much just drilled on and on and I needed for it to end. I needed to find Alvin. "Alvin!" The teacher snapped, "Please answer the equation on the board." I got a look at the equation and, being used to pushing my glasses up on my face, poked between my eyes. I was getting sick of this. 2x-7y=3. Tch, easy as pie.
"The answer?" I repeated, "x equals five and y equals one."
"Yes…" The teacher sounded baffled, "That's right. Alvin, are you feeling ill?"
"No, sir." I said.
"Sir?" He repeated and the bell rang. I rushed out of the classroom, knowing that I'd have some explaining to do, both to the teacher and Alvin. I wasn't good at this and classes went like this all the way through to lunch, where me and my brother finally caught up.
"Alvin," I said, but I didn't need to finish. He knew what I had to say.
"Look, Simon, you HAVE to go to the dance with her. I'd never stick her up and she knows it." He explained the (one of many) situation, "You don't have to do anything like dance, but don't shun her." A dance? I couldn't go to a dance! Especially with a girl I didn't like, like Brittany. "Please?" He asked and I noticed the others making their way here, "You owe me, remember?" I knew that would come back to haunt me. Now I had to go to my first dance outside my own body with a girl I didn't like.
"O-Okay, fine, but if Jeanette asks you, you have to say no. Don't be mean, just make up a believable excuse." He nodded and eventually the Chipettes and Theodore "sat" with us, Brittany a little too close for comfort.
"So, um, Simon," Jeanette stuttered. I guess I had to see this coming with my luck. "Do you um, want to… go to the dance… with me?" I could see Alvin look nervously for an excuse, a way to let her down gently.
"Oh, sorry, Jeanette, but I'm busy that night." Good. Good. Now for the specifics.
"Oh," Jeanette dropped her head and Brittany wrapped her arm around her sister for comfort.
"Really, Simon?" She remarked, "What are you doing that's so important?" Alvin fumbled and I didn't think he'd be able to come up with a response.
"It's fine, Britt." Jeanette whispered, "If he doesn't want to go, it's fine." She hopped off the table and I wanted to run after her. Brittany scowled at Alvin and hopped after her sister. I didn't like the decision to leave Jeanette by herself without a date, but I couldn't have her go with Alvin in my body. She thought she was asking me, but really, she asked Alvin in my body. I'd need to find some way to make it up to her.
"Simon, didn't you want to go to the dance with Jeanette?" Theodore asked.
"Yeah," Alvin groaned, "I was just busy… Some on, Si- Alvin, didn't we need to talk to Mr. Crout?" I took his cue and nodded, following him him to the chemistry lab. "Simon, you okay?" I didn't answer. "Simon?"
"I'm fine!" I answered, not meaning for my voice to be so rough.
"You're too uptight."
"And you're too irresponsible." I shot back. We were complete opposites, how were we supposed to get through the rest of the week without causing a war in our household?
"Simon, that girl wants to go out with you, but you were to worried about being me to care."
"And you can't be responsible enough to worry at all. You're acting like yourself in my body more than you acted like yourself in your own." We walked in silence as our little argument ceased. We shouldn't be arguing, not now.
"Once we're back to normal, you're asking her out." Alvin finally said before we reached the lab. I gasped when I saw what lay before me. Yellow tape surrounded the area and it looked like a wreck.
"What happened?" I freaked out and was about to run in before a foot stopped me.
"Sorry, boys." Mr. Crout said, "Something happened over the weekend and a few chemicals were spilled and mixed, causing all of this." He gestured to the team of people wearing radiation suits in the lab. "They said the rest of the school is safe, but the chemistry lab -and everything inside- is under quarantine.
"Seriously?!" I screamed in my head.